Offline vs. Online teaching
Online teaching and face to face teaching are significantly different and require different skills, preparation, materials and equipment as well as practice.
Brainstorming exercise
If you would make a list, what do you think is possible when teaching face to face, but impossible online?
Now, are there also advantages of online teaching? What is possible both face to face and online?
And more than that… What is possible online, but impossible face to face?
Write as many advantages as possible for online teaching. Can you come up with a list of… let’s say… 20 advantages?
You might ask yourself why you need to do this. If so, just one reason would be that finding creative solutions and alternative ways of doing things, not to mention seeing things from multiple points of view, are what we seek to develop as well. We really want to support you in getting the most important skills.
There are lots of advantages to online teaching. Starting from being in your own comfortable environment, having access to many resources (from presentations to virtual museum tours), using mind maps and collaborative tools that engage all students at the same time, to muting the microphones (yes, there can be silence when necessary, and it is much easier than in a face to face setting:) ), and to the possibility to evaluate all students at the same time, with the support of specific forms and questionnaires.
Personal development advice
Whenever you get the chance, train your creativity and lateral thinking.
Now, coming back to the questions related to what is possible face-to-face, but impossible online… Here comes a really challenging question for you: how can you make those things possible, or at least get as close as possible to the advantages of face to face teaching, and ultimately - closer to your students?
The mindset with which you approach online teaching should support you in learning to be more and more comfortable and in control of your skills. We will support you in making online teaching effective, motivating and engaging. Now, let’s look a little bit more at the unique characteristics of online teaching.